Frequently Asked Questions


General Information

1.  What is the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award?

2.  What distinguishes this award from traditional NIH grants?

3.  Is the NIH Director's Pioneer Award the only NIH program that uses the DP1 mechanism?

4.  What does it mean that an investigator should pursue a "new research direction?"

5.  How does the NIH Director's Pioneer Award differ from other awards in the High-Risk, High-Reward Research program?

6.  How many awards will be made?

7.  Are women and members of underrepresented minority groups encouraged to apply?

8.  I don't see my area of research supported previously by the Pioneer Award program. Does this mean that it is not of interest to NIH?

9.  My institution is not research intensive. Will this be an issue?

10.  Will another funding opportunity be available next year?

11.  Can someone at NIH review my idea and let me know if it is a good fit for the NIH Director's Pioneer Award?

12.  What is the competition timeline?

13.  Have evaluations of the Pioneer Award program been conducted?

14.  What is the success rate for the Pioneer Award?

Eligibility Requirements

1.  Are individuals at all stages of their careers eligible?

2.  Are foreign scientists eligible?

3.  Are foreign institutions eligible to apply?

4.  Are individuals employed by government agencies, non-academic, and/or for-profit organizations eligible?

5.  Are scientists in the NIH Intramural Research Program (IRP) eligible?

6.  Are investigators with other sources of support eligible?

7.  Are postdoctoral fellows eligible?

8.  Is there a limit to the number of applications an institution can submit?

9.  How much time/effort must be devoted to the NIH Director's Pioneer Award project?

10.  Does the level of time/effort needed to support the NIH Director's Pioneer Award project include time needed for teaching, administrative, and/or clinical duties?

11.  May two or more scientists apply as a team for the NIH Director's Pioneer Award?

12.  May I include collaborators and/or consultants on my NIH Director's Pioneer Award?

13.  What scientific areas are eligible to apply for the NIH Director's Pioneer Award?

14.  Will technology development be allowed or just hypothesis-driven research?

15.  Can I work with a collaborator in a foreign country, and would I be able conduct research there?

16.  Is research conducted in a foreign country allowed?

17.  If I am not successful this year, may I reapply next year?

18.  Is the award transferable if I change institutions?

19.  I anticipate switching institutions. Should I apply from my current institution or my future institution?

20.  Can I submit an application that has overlapping aims with an application currently under review?

21.  Can I resubmit an earlier, unsuccessful NIH Director's Pioneer Award application?

22.  Can I submit an earlier, unsuccessful application from another funding opportunity?

Application & Submission

1.  What are the important dates for applications?

2.  Will late applications be accepted?

3.  Can I receive a submission extension if serving as an NIH peer reviewer or in an NIH Advisory Group?

4.  Is a letter of intent (LOI) required to apply for this award?

5.  What must be done before I submit an application to Grants.gov?

6.  Where can I find help registering for Grants.gov?

7.  Where can I find help in submitting my application to Grants.gov?

8.  Where can I find help in registering for the eRA Commons?

9.  How should documents be formatted?

10.  What is the purpose of designating two Areas of Science?

11.  Where do I designate the Areas of Science for my application?

12.  What are the Areas of Science?

13.  May I designate more than two Areas of Science?

14.  Can someone at the NIH help me select my Areas of Science?

15.  Are detailed budgets required?

16.  Does the 5-page essay replace the traditional “Research Plan?"

17.  Are citations and references allowed?

18.  Are figures and illustrations allowed in the essay?

19.  May I include movies, either as a link to a website or as a CD, with my application?

20.  Where should the effort commitment statement be provided?

21.  May I include additional information in an appendix?

22.  May I submit new data after submitting my application?

23.  What documents are needed for the application?

24.  Can I revise and resubmit if my application is not funded?

25.  Does my application require a Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Plan?

26.  My application should not result in a large amount of data. Do I still need a Data Management and Sharing Plan?

27.  I have a Genomic Data Sharing (GDS) Plan for my application. Can that substitute for a Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Plan?

28.  Can I see a Sample Data Management and Sharing Plan?

29.  How do I submit the Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Plan?

30.  Can I ask for additional funds for Data Sharing and Management?

Budget

1.  How is the budget request for this award mechanism different from other NIH grants?

2.  How much can be requested?

3.  How do I put together a budget request?

4.  Can the project be for less than five years?

5.  Are indirect costs provided in the award?

6.  May a collaborator be funded on the award?

7.  Can I ask for additional funds for Data Sharing and Management?

Letters of Reference

1.  Are letters of reference required?

2.  What is the difference between a letter of reference and a letter of support?

3.  Can I include “Letters of Support/Collaboration” for my research?

4.  From whom should I request letters of reference?

5.  May I ask more than three individuals to submit letters for my application?

6.  May a single letter of reference come from more than one individual?

7.  How do my referees submit their letters in support of my application?

8.  Will I be notified when letters are submitted?

9.  How can I check the status of my letters of reference?

10.  What if one of my reference writers cannot submit their letter on time or at all?

Review & Selection

1.  How will awardees be selected?

2.  What criteria will be used to evaluate applications?

3.  Which review criteria will be emphasized?

4.  Will the reviewers be experts in the topic of my application?

5.  May I suggest specific reviewers for my application?

6.  What happens at the interview?

7.  Will I receive a summary statement or other comments?

8.  When will the awardees be announced?

9.  Can the outcome of the review be appealed?

Award Administration

1.  What requirements must I fulfill during the term of the award?

2.  How will the award be administered?

3.  Do I need to submit an annual progress report?

4.  Should I mention NIH support in journal articles that pertain to research supported with my NIH Director's Pioneer Award?

5.  Should I notify the NIH of any note-worthy publications or media coverage of my research?

6.  Am I required to submit my journal manuscripts to PubMed Central?

7.  Are there annual meetings I am required to attend?

8.  Are these awards renewable?

9.  Is it possible to request a no-cost extension at the end of the grant period if there are unexpended funds?

10.  Is the award transferable if I change institutions?

11.  Can the Pioneer Award be transferred to another Principal Investigator?

This page last reviewed on March 28, 2023